Wood raw material industries and big land maintenance require powerful chippers to chip thicker and fibrous materials of different vegetations.
However, a variation in chipper type gets you into the dilemma of which one to buy.
Disc chippers carry a powerful engine that can run heavy and inconsistent loads smoothly. As a result, disc chippers are preferred over drum chippers by professionals.
This article constitutes all the research-based information regarding disc chippers, which will answer all the questions you have. This information will be helpful for beginners and professionals.
What Is A Disc Chipper?
A Disc wood chipper is a special type of chipper that consists of a disc-shaped flywheel. The cutting blades or knives are connected to the disc wheel, which undergoes chipping perpendicular to the raw material.
Disc chippers are considered handy and easy as compared to their counterpart drum chipper.
It can cut many wood materials, including twigs, leaves, wood logs, branches, cardboard and papers.
In addition, industrial-grade wood chippers can chip large and thicker woods into fine chips with efficiency.
Parts Of Disc Wood Chipper
Machine mechanics is considered complicated so is the disc chipper. However, locating and acquiring know-how of the disc chipper parts helps users perform various services better.
The disc chipper consists of the following parts.
Main Body
The main body of the disc chipper encloses the cutter, upon and lower casing, feeding inlet, and discharge outlet.
Cutting Disc
The flywheel-like disc onto which blades are attached perpendicularly in a slot. It is a center of chipping. The anvil is located below the disc, and the upper and lower casing protects the disc.
Hydraulic Power
The automatic hydraulic powered system helps to draw the feedstock into the cutting disc.
Feeding And Discharge Chute
The feeding hopper carries material in by a hydraulic-powered wheel, and the discharge chute pushes out the chips into collecting bins through air pressure.
Finally, the motor is connected to drive power to perform all three main functions, feeding, blade rotation, and discharging.
The Working Mechanism Of Disc Wood Chipper
The domino working mechanism of a disc chipper is carried out in a following series of steps.
- The feedstocks free from foreign debris is placed in the feeding hopper. The cutting disc generates power from the motor to draw in material towards the cutting knives.
- The cutting blades in the vertical placement of wood are designed to ensure the precision of wood chip cutting. Cutting wood chips is not an immediate process, but it is a two-step process. The raw material first transforms into large pieces and then intro uniform wood chips of the required size.
- The final chips obtained are collected in the discharge port. The exit chute is present to push out the chips out of the chipper through airflow pressure.
Benefits Of A Disc Wood Chipper
In comparison to its counterpart, drum chipper, disc chippers have several positive points. Let’s have a look at them.
- Disc wood chipper is energy efficient. It produces high-quality wood chips, and the output remains high.
- The disc wood chipper offers safe operations because of the less complicated design of the machine.
- Due to the simple design, the maintenance, installation, and handling are straightforward.
Maintenance Of A Disc Wood Chipper
Machines are prone to functional failure when the engine or its parts are overlooked and consistently in operation.
Therefore, to increase the life of a disc, wood chipper, maintenance is the key element to ensure the requirement.
A properly maintained disc chipper gives optimum quality chips, and the lack of maintenance obscure the quality of the chips.
Listed down are the maintenance schedule of disc chipper parts.
Bring The Machine To The Appropriate State Before Maintenance Protocol
Following conditions need to be achieved before carrying out routine maintenance.
- Keep the engine off and wait for all the moving parts to complete the stall.
- Make sure that all the heated parts cool down.
- Disconnect the ignition key, clutch, and positive battery cable.
- Install the cutter lock pin into the lock tube.
- Keep the feed control bar on the neutral button.
- Wear safety PPE and formal clothing as described in the safety protocols.
Engine Maintenance
The engine maintenance includes a thorough air filter, radiator screen and fans, oil and fuel filters.
Air Filter
Inspection and checking of all filters are required before every operation.
The main filter is cleaned by wiping with a cloth. Change the filter when it is damaged or cleaned several times. The safety filter needs to be replaced after every three consecutive cleanings.
During the cleaning, it is required that no foreign debris can transfer into the engine, so keep the inlet closed. Examine the whole filter for any cracks, damage, and dents.
Cutting Blades
Consistent and prolonged use of a chipper may make the blades dull and inefficient. Therefore, it is recommended to sharpen the edges of the cutting blades periodically with a professional.
Inspect the blade’s position before operation. Check the anvil and blade connections, and ensure the blade’s angle is at the correct angle.
Radiator Screen and Fans
Cleaning of radiator fins and screen is done by using compressed air. The compressed air pressure is applied in the opposite direction of airflow.
The radiator parts are checked for dust, oil, leaves and other clogging waste. Check the radiator fans’ connections, seals, clamps, and hoses and replace them if required.
Oil Filter
A disc chipper’s oil and oil filter requires cleaning after 250 hours of operation or after three months.
It is highly preferred to use the engine manufacturer recommended oil for the disc chipper. Some manufacturers offer a special type of oil to use for a certain period.
Motor Fuel And Fuel Filter
Check the level of fuel before operating a chipper. Diesel should not be below the standard level.
Fuel filters need replacement after 500 hours or six months of using a disc chipper.
When fueling the system, the spill should be removed and not left as it may trigger fire, and the fueling is done properly so as not to contaminate the fuel hose.
Feed Control Box
To avoid any downtime, check feed control before operating the machine. First, check the forward, backward and reverse position of the feeding hopper.
Then, start the engine with the minimum speed limit to escape the loss of the motor.
Greasing is key to making the feed control run smoothly. The connections should grease after 40-50 minutes of operation.
Tow Vehicle-Related Maintenance
Check the hitch and pintle ring of the chipper as well as the tow mounted vehicle.
These metal parts should be free of corrosion and wear. If they are damaged or loose in connections, replace them as soon as possible. In addition, the metal connections should be greased to avoid friction.
Check the connections and wiring of the breakaway switch. When uncoupled with the transport, the chipper sent signals to brakes to activate.
Jack stands, both front and rear, need checking and greasing to be in functional condition. Give a complete inspection to the jack stand, and check the holes for any damage.
Check the base of the jack that it can sit to the level properly, and make sure that the lock pins are in good condition.
Replace the jack if it shows any sign of breaking and is not firm enough to hold a disc chipper.
Frame
Examine the frame and other parts of the chipper, such as tires, lightning switches etc., for bends, breaking, corrosion, and cracks. The permanent parts need checking after every 3 or 6 months of operation.
Troubleshooting Of A Disc Wood Chipper
While operating a disc wood chipper, certain conditions may interrupt the mechanism and affect the chipping.
In order to confront those challenges guidelines are provided below.
Disc Wood Chipper Won’t Start
Check the connection of a disk hood safety switch of a chipper. Make sure it is attached fully and properly.
Improper Functioning Of Auto-Feed
Check the seeing of auto-feed on the feed control box.
Check the wiring and connection of the auto-feed. Replace or repair if there lies any fault in the wire.
Dislocated Disc Knives
The blades attached to the disc dislocate and hit the anvil may affect chipper functioning.
Check the clearance of the knives and anvil and adjust them if they are displaced.
Check the screws and bolts of the retainer cap and tighten them to the maximum.
Cavitated Hydraulic Pump
Give your system some time to gain the temperature. It might be due to low oil temperature.
Replace the pump if it is broken or damaged.
The hydraulic oil viscosity is not relevant for atmospheric pressure. Use manufacturer recommended oil.
Feed- Wheel Slows Down
The excessive use of blades makes them dull. They need their edges to be sharpened or replaced.
Change the pump if it is damaged.
Check or replace the feed-wheel motor. Tighten the connections of the feed-wheel.
Non-Uniform Wood Chips
Check the conditions of the blades. For example, the cutting blades should match each other, or their edges should be properly sharp.
Anvil and knives conditions and placement must be accurate, and if required, replace or repair the cutter disc parts.
The blades should be at the correct angle placement from the ground.
Check the feeding material. The short, dry, or rotten material does not transform into good quality chips.
Wood Chips Got Stuck
Clogging in the discharge chute causes the wood chips to get stuck and halts the removal of chips from the chipper. To avoid trouble, follow the below guideline.
Increase the engine speed or change the setting in the feed control box to move the chips in the backward direction.
Replace the discharge chute if the clogging is unable to be removed.
Safety Guidelines For Operating A Disc Wood Chipper
- Wear all the necessary PPE and standard clothing. Wearing of jewelry is prohibited.
- Run the machine in a ventilated or open surface area.
- Feed larger pieces first and then smaller material over it to avoid accidents.
- The cutter disk hole should close, and the lock pin must be in its place while the chipper is functional.
- Follow the maintenance safety guidelines while maintaining the device.
- It is recommended not to operate the engine at an angle greater than 25; otherwise, it may damage it.
- Keep the machine free from any oil or fuel spill as it may lead to fire breakout.
- Always operate the chipper in daylight or proper artificial light.
- Deal with the battery carefully. It should thaw in winter away from fire.
- Do not store equipment if the oil tank contains oil for several days.
- Do not leave the control box unattended when the machine is in operation. In an unattended condition, the machine lock key is removed, and the battery is disconnected.
- Make sure that the safety buttons and the features are in a good position and working properly.
- Be vigilant while operating a disc chipper for any unusual noise or vibration. Respond to the challenge by immediately switching the engine off.
Conclusion
The above discussion regarding a disc chipper is provided with all the possible technical solutions to the issues you came across while dealing with a disc chipper.
A thorough insight into this article is the key to managing the disc chipper.
